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Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

The Portage Daily Register

Portage and Columbia County, WI - News, Sports and Information - Part of WiscNews.com

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Prison possible in Pardeeville pot bust

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A June search of a Pardeeville home where the residents allegedly sold marijuana for years has led to drug charges and possible prison sentences for three residents.

Albert Salvatore, 41, faces a possibility of a six-year initial prison sentence on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver THC (marijuana), possession of THC, manufacture/delivery of THC and maintaining a drug-trafficking place; he also is charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Michelle R. Salvatore, 35, of Pardeeville, is charged with felony possession with intent to deliver THC (marijuana), felony maintaining a drug-trafficking place, and with misdemeanor charges of possession of THC and possession of drug paraphernalia. The felony charges carry a maximum initial sentence of three years in prison.

Kurt Pulver, 39, is charged with felony possession of THC as a second offense and felony bail jumping, which carry a maximum possible initial penalty of 4 1/2 years in prison.

Investigators with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, acting on a tip from the Dodge County Sheriff's Office of drug activity at the Salvatores' Pardeeville home, found a total of 85.54 grams of marijuana during a search in June, according to a criminal complaint.

The marijuana, separated into six bags, was in a safe under a bed inside the house; authorities also discovered narcotic pills, cash, rolling papers and a digital scale inside the safe, as well as marijuana pipes in a bedroom, the complaint stated.

The complaint said Albert Salvatore told authorities that he has sold marijuana out of the house for several years, and that he pays $700 for a quarter pound of marijuana, which they package and sell.

Albert Salvatore said he sells marijuana to pay for his own habit of smoking marijuana; he smokes every day, he said, and doesn't think he gets high anymore because he has been smoking marijuana for a long time, the complaint stated.

The complaint said Michelle Salvatore told authorities that she has been smoking marijuana since she was 18, and that she sells it to her friends weekly.

Albert Salvatore said that he, Michelle Salvatore and Pulver were smoking marijuana as authorities arrived, the complaint stated.

Investigators reported that the living room of the home had a strong odor of burnt marijuana and that a light haze of smoke filled the room, according to the complaint.

Pulver was charged in August with drunken driving as a fourth offense and with felony possession of THC.

Each is free on a $2,000 signature bond after initial appearances Wednesday in Columbia County Circuit court and each is scheduled for a pretrial conference Dec. 7.

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